Our friends at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) have informed us that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testified before Congress last week on the new Deferred Action process for young immigrants. A lot of uncertainty and speculation has been swirling around the details of the application process for people who were not already placed in Immigration Court.

Some of the key points that were clarified:

AGE — anyone under the age of 31 on June 15, 2012 is eligible

PROCESS — details should be available August 1, applications accepted August 15

FEES — $465 for work permit ($380) and fingerprinting ($85). There may also be a separate fee for the actual Deferred Action benefit. We do not yet know if a fee waiver request will be possible.

Many thanks to CLINIC for its continued diligence in getting the word out. Contact a CLINIC affiliate in your area for information about Deferred Action for DREAMers.